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Stefano Pilati

STEFANO PILATI is the head of design at Italian label Ermenegildo Zegna, and oversees its menswear line, as well as its secondary womenswear franchise - Agnona. He is also known for his eight-year tenure at Yves Saint Laurent, from 2004 until 2012, incorporating classic elegance with a modern flair.

Born in Milan in 1965, Stefano Pilati originally intended toqualify as a land surveyor and professed an early interest inarchitecture. "I was an unhappy child," he once told the NewYork Times. "With my father, everything I said or did waswrong. Everything I wore was wrong. Everywhere I wanted to go waswrong. So I began to worry that there was really something thematter with me. When I was sketching something, I didn't feelalone. Eventually, I said, "Enough - I'm going to belong to anotherworld instead. And the fashion world looked beautiful."

He abandoned his course, which would have qualified him as a land surveyor, to undertake an internship with Nino Cerruti at the age of 17.

He cites his family amongst his early fashion influences. He created his first sketches for his sisters, inspired as he was by their fashion magazines.

His first job in fashion was at a velvet manufacturer. Within months he was designing the company's entire collections and presenting them to the ready-to-wear greats of Europe.

In 1993 he was hired by Giorgio Armani as a menswear design assistant but in 1995 he left to become the head of research and development at Prada.

The designer was promoted to assistant designer at Miu Miu in 1998, where he worked on menswear and womenswear.

He was named design director at Yves Saint Laurent in 2000, and worked under Tom Ford for four years before being appointed creative director following Ford's departure in 2004.

His inaugural must-have item was the tulip skirt he presented in 2004, which critics and women the world over were initially unconvinced by - but it went on to become a wardrobe staple.

Like Yves before him with the 'le smoking' look, Pilati has created other trademark items for YSL, namely the Muse bag he designed in 2005 which he has admitted to being reluctant to name. "Customers seem to like to ask for bags by name, but I don't really like to name my bags - they are not children or pets." The bag continues to be a bestseller, with Muse Two being brought out in 2008.

Pilati admits working under the legacy of Saint Laurent issometimes intimidating. "Saint Laurent did everything," he told theNew York Times in 2008. "You go to the YSL archives, andyou feel he thought of any idea I could ever imagine. It'sintimidating."

Often way ahead of his time, Pilati's designs are time and again questioned and then latterly widely copied, proving his credentials as one of the most talented and imaginative designers working today.

In 2007 Pilati conceived the idea for the first Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto. Talking of the publication, which is created by the label to celebrate the most recent collection, Pilati explained, "One of my visions for Saint Laurent is about giving back. So that even if you can't afford it, you can still pick up the essence of the message, the elements of fashion that might be considered increasingly irrelevant but remain for me its main aspects: the silhouette, the way the clothes are cut, the fabrics, a special pattern." The Manifesto now accompanies each new collection.

Pilati created the costumes for a theatre version of HaroldPinter's Betrayal, which opened at the Comedy Theatre inLondon in June 2011. "I was intrigued to work on this productionfirst because of the talent involved, and then because Pinter'suniverse is particularly suited for the house of Saint Laurent -with its ambiance of intellectual wealth, its unapologeticallyambiguous moral landscape, and its uncontrived style," he toldVOGUE.COM.

On February 27 2012, Pilati announced he was stepping down from his role as Yves Saint Laurent creative director, after months of denials from the house. His next move has not yet been confirmed. "I join Paul Deneve and the house of Saint Laurent in thanking Stefano for his dedication and contribution to the story of Yves Saint Laurent," PPR chairman and ceo François-Henri Pinault said in a statement. "I personally wish him all the best."

In September 2012, he was named head of design at Italian label Ermenegildo Zegna, where he oversees menswear, as well as the brand's secondary womenswear line, Agnona.